Computer networks couple various types of computer systems in a manner that enables the network coupled computer systems to access data from a variety of sources of information. Some computer networks allow media content to be streamed from one or more network coupled sources of media content to one or more network coupled receivers of media content. In such computer networks, media content can be streamed by media content servers and played back by media content playback systems that are associated with the media content receivers. For example, a user may select a recorded television program stored on a media server for playback on a media receiver.
In order to ensure a good user experience, the playback system should be able to provide a satisfactory playback experience on such a network coupled receiver. That experience should be the same as or near to the experience provided during playback directly on the device which holds the desired content. Satisfactory playback, among other things, can require smooth and continuous playback of both audio and video components. For example, in the case of streaming media, playback performance can be impacted by parameters and performance of the media source and network resources. Thus, satisfactory playback of streaming content requires reliability of the network resources associated with playback.
The reliability of network resources can vary significantly as network conditions change over time. Network characteristics that can impact playback of streaming content include, among other things, the available and maximum bandwidth of the network. For example, in either case, there may be 5 megabits of bandwidth available while the streaming content requires 6 megabits for playback. Further, the available bandwidth on a given network may vary greatly over a short period of time. Thus, available network resources may not allow a playback device to timely receive the data necessary for satisfactory playback.
Additionally, the characteristics of the source content can impact the ability to provide a satisfactory playback experience over a network. The quality and type of a piece of content determines the bandwidth required for playback. For example, a piece of media content may have multiple audio and video tracks each of which have varying bit-rates meaning that playback requires the ability to handle substantial changes in bandwidth requirements.
Source reliability can further adversely impact the playback of streaming media. For example, if the source of the streaming media is a broadcast antenna, the signal may be interrupted or weakened by a weather storm. The data stream of the content may therefore be interrupted and impact the playback experience. Conventional playback systems attempt to play all of a piece of media and such an interruption may mean that both audio and video playback are halted because less than all of the data is available. This can reduce the quality of the user experience significantly. Similarly, if a file is recorded from a wireless source, the recorded file can reflect signal interruptions and be degraded.
In both cases, the variations in source and network resource reliability can individually and in combination detrimentally impact the quality throughout the playback experience. Thus, conventional systems are not well equipped to deal with variations in source and network reliability.